1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image processing apparatus and particularly to an image processing apparatus provided with an image scanner having a function of reading bar codes, marks, letters or other characters, and a function of reading image information of figures, tables, pictures and other image.
2. Description of the Background Art
In order to meet recent demands for labor saving and improvement of operation efficiency in factories, offices, stores etc., studies have been made as to techniques for quantizing documents, drawings, photographs etc., as binary image data (image information to be stored in memory and controlling the data. For example, it is considered to electronically file lists of employees by registering image information of face pictures of employees and registering code information representing the names, posts etc. of the employees. It is also considered in stores and so on to electronically file lists of goods by registering image information of drawings or photographs showing appearances of the goods, and registering code information representing the codes, names, prices etc. of the corresponding goods. In offices, various plans are made to electronically file documents, drawings of design etc.
In a system for controlling and retrieving such image information, binary data of figures, tables, photographs is stored in a storage medium and codes for identifying the respective data are stored corresponding to the respective data. An image scanner using a charge coupled device (CCD) for example is used to register image information in such a system, and a keyboard is used to input identification codes. In such a system, if the image information stored in the storage medium is to be read and outputted to a CRT monitor, a printer or the like, it is necessary to input the identification code corresponding to the image information from the keyboard each time. On that occasion, if the number to be inputted has many digits, the keying operation is troublesome and sometimes a number different from the desired number is inputted erroneously. Thus, the keying operation takes time and often causes inconvenience.
In order to save the trouble of keying operation, it is consider to input identification codes by representing the codes as bar codes, marks or optically readable letters and reading the same. However, the bar codes, marks, optically readable letters and the like are information which can be coded, while image information is information which can not be coded, and in the prior art, there exist no input apparatus capable of reading and processing both the information which can be coded and the information which can not be coded. In addition, processing to make image information correspond to information of bar codes, marks or optically readable letters is not carried out conventionally.
Furthermore, in order to save the trouble of keying operation, it is considered to connect a reader of characters such as bar codes, marks and optically readable letters, and an image scanner individually to a host computer and to store the information read by the reader and the information read by the image scanner by setting a correspondence between the former information and the latter information. However, in such construction, it is necessary to separately use the reader for bar codes, marks, letters, etc. and the image scanner, which can not ensure operability and causes the entire system to be expensive.
In order to process an image read by an image scanner, it sometimes becomes necessary to set parameters for defining an enlargement scale, gradation degrees of the image, and a range to be read or parameters for determining whether a document to be read is to be displayed with half tones as in the case of photographs. To set such parameters, it is considered to convert the information of the parameters to bar codes or to optically readable letters and to read the above mentioned bar codes or letters by means of a reader. However, such parameters are registered in an internal circuit of a control unit performing image processing and accordingly the user can not confirm whether the parameters can be reliably registered or not. More specifically, in the case of reading a bar code for example by a reader, the information of the parameter in the form of the bar code could not be read reliably if the contact on the bar code by the reader is not good. Even in such a case, the user is given no alarm as to erroneous reading cf the parameter and accordingly image processing is performed with the erroneous information, causing troubles such as output of an image different from the desired image to an output unit such as printer.
If it is possible to utilize both the setting of parameters for image processing by means of dedicated keys and the setting of parameters by reading bar codes, optically readable letters or other characters by means of a reader, it will be convenient since parameters can be set more freely. However, in such a case, if setting of a parameter by keys and setting of a parameter based on reading of a bar code or the like by the reader occurs simultaneously, confusion is caused in image processing as to which parameter should be registered and consequently it often happens that a wrong parameter is registered.
In addition, it is considered to transfer the image read by the image scanner to an external unit such as a host computer and to perform various image processing by the external unit. In such a case, if the parameter set in the external unit and the parameter set in the image processing apparatus are different, it sometimes happens that desired image processing can not be smoothly performed even if the image read by the image scanner is transferred to the external unit.